Halfway2sane

30 year old Jenna Strouble is charged with nine counts of first-degree murder stemming from the deaths of 32-year-old Jacob Lambert and his parents, 55-year-old Patrick and 54-year-old Stacy Forde, in Chicago on March 22^nd.

Jenna Strouble contacted 32-year-old Jacob Lambert, her Ex and father of her three children on the night of the alleged murder, about 11:00 or 11:30 pm asking him to “hang out,” later admitting to investigators that she went to the meeting “with an intention” to harm him. They apparently had an on again, off again relationship.

Allegedly Jenna drove to Plum Creek Nature Preserve but pulled over along Burnham Road in Sauk Village upon learning the first location was closed. She told him she “had a surprise” and wanted to massage his back.

She instructed him to recline his seat, remove his shirt, and lie on his stomach while she straddled him. After rubbing his back for about 20 minutes, Jenna allegedly told investigators that when Jacob criticized her technique, she retrieved a Glock handgun hidden underneath the passenger seat.  She then allegedly pointed the gun at the back of Lambert’s head for about eight minutes, at times considering putting it down and “thinking she would do it another day,” before ultimately pulling the trigger, putting a bullet in the back of his head.

After shooting Jacob, she allegedly smoked a cigarette and drove to his parents’ home, where she struggled to get inside before Patrick Forde opened the door. As soon as he did, she began shooting him, firing 17 shots at him from the porch and then continuing as she entered the house. She then allegedly shot Stacy Forde three times in the chest and abdomen and killing her as she was coming downstairs to check on the cause of the commotion.  

Immediately after the alleged murders, Jenna is accused of returning to her home in St. John, Indiana where her 3-year-old son and 4 year old daughter were and calling her sister to admit to what she had done, with her sister ultimately notifying police. 

Deputies reportedly arrived at the Forde’s home around 2 a.m. on March 23 to find Patrick Forde’s lifeless body in the dining room and Stacy Forde lying on the stairs.

Upon being asked if she came to Jacob’s parents’ home to finish her plan, and she allegedly told investigators, “Yeah, pretty much.”

Jacob’s body was located in a nearby cul-de-sac in the passenger seat of a 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium, still face down with the seat reclined.

As officers arrived at Jenna’s St. John home to take her into custody, prosecutors said she came outside and handed them a loaded Glock 19 fitted with a suppressor, with investigators locating a vehicle registered to Jenna Lambert less than a block away.

She allegedly wrote a note the night before the alleged killings providing the names of three of her children and asking others to care for them.

She allegedly admitted to purchasing the gun in December 2025 and buying the suppressor online for roughly $589.

Prosecutors pointed to Jenna’s complaints about Jacob’s parenting and tensions with his family as a possible motive for the alleged murders, with the pair occasionally maintaining an intimate relationship while co-parenting their two young children. 

Jenna reportedly admitted to not having a relationship with her children and spending little time with them, stating that she voluntarily handed over custody to Jacob and his family and only recently had them returned to her.

She also allegedly told investigators she considered killing her own parents because she did not feel her children would be safe under their care but didn’t think she could go through with it.

When investigators asked if she killed Jacob’s parents because she did not want them to take custody of their children, she allegedly replied, “that’s some of the reasons.”  She also stated she wasn’t even sure if she was going to have the guts to do what she did.

Prosecutors pointed to an incident in which Strouble allegedly took her father’s rifle and stashed it under her bed, later telling him she thought about killing Jacob but did not have a plan.

Investigators also learned of Jenna’s past suicidal tendencies and medication for depression, including one incident in which she wanted to kill herself by jumping out of a window with her children.

Stacy’s employer, Roeda, a Lynwood-based sign shop, paid tribute to her on social media, praising her work as the Director of Finance for almost 22 years. 

‘She was more than a co-worker to many of us; she was like family to the Roeda’s and many of our colleagues. She showed up to many family events, celebrations, and parties. She enjoyed life and loved a great concert,’ her colleagues wrote. 

Roeda said that Stacy loved her family, valued religion and left an everlasting impact on the company. 

Her employer also asked the community to keep her surviving son and extended family in their thoughts and prayers.

Emily Conner, a family member, paid tribute to the three on social media, writing: ‘Our hearts are incredibly heavy, and there truly aren’t words for a loss like this.

‘Jake had just celebrated one year of sobriety something we were so proud of and that meant so much,’ she continued.

‘Ella and Rhett are going to miss their Dad, Papa and Grandma more than words can express.’

Neighbors were left in shock after tragedy struck their community saying police were knocking on doors all day Monday. 

Jennifer Brown added that she felt ‘numb’ after hearing the news. ‘I feel like I’m in the middle of a horror story. They were just over here yesterday, all three of them. And we were hanging out. 

Jim Brown told the outlet that he saw all three of the victims in the home the day before they were killed. “Now, they are gone, and I’m not an emotional person. But something like that hits home.”

Neighbors said that the family had a beloved dog that survived the attack, and it refused to leave the home when family members arrived. 

Those close to the family said that the couple’s grandchildren lived at the residence as well, but they were not there when the killings allegedly occurred. 

Those who knew Jenna Strouble or followed her on social media saw a very different side. Always being a “smiling mom” in social media photos, it seems shocking to see she now faces nine counts of first-degree murder.